Economic IndicatorsJOLTS: Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) tells us how many job openings there are each month, how many workers were hired, how many quit their job, and how many were laid off. In a healthy economy, there should be more job openings than there are unemployed workers in each sector—in other words, employers should be competing for workers, and not the other way around. The JOLTS report also lets us look at specific sectors, and see whether there is a shortage or a glut of workers in any particular part of the economy.

Key numbers • June 2019

7.3 millionNumber of job openings in June

0.8Ratio of unemployed people to job openings

3.8%Hires rate • The number of hires as a share of total employment

2.3%Quits rate • The number of quits as a share of total employment

June 2019 • Updated August 2019

Here’s what JOLTS will show in a healthy economy:

A robust rate of hires to show that people are finding work.

A robust rate of quits. When the economy is good and there are jobs available, workers feel more comfortable quitting jobs that are not well suited to them or that don’t pay well.

Note: Shaded areas denote recessions. The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment. The layoff rate is the number of layoffs and discharges during the entire month as a percent of total employment. The quits rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total employment.

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